Shape Shifter
by jade
Summary: AU. Mischief was always her favorite pastime, making trouble came naturally. Nothing could make her consider the consequences, until the day she makes a deadly mistake. Now she’s in way over her head and there’s no clear escape. COMPLETED!
1. Part the First

Woo! Back for another story I see! This is the fourth story in the _Inferiorum _series. (You guys who know what's coming can skip ahead to the story.) But you can read this story without reading the others and they won't be spoiled. (However, I prefer reading stories in order—but do what you will.) The first story in the series is **Doppelganger**. The first five stories can be read in any worry.

Also, there's been some questions about the stories:

The first five stories feature the background of certain characters who will be important when the sixth story, or the first big story in the _Inferiorum_ (or as my sister and I now affectionately refer to it as 'The B.L.W. series' (Big Latin Word)) series starts up.

It is important to note that although I've done certain characters back stories, such as Fred and George, Hermione, and Draco so far, doesn't mean they will be the only characters who are important in the rest of the series. A very certain character doesn't get a back story but is very important. (I can't say who. It's a surprise.) The reason I picked these certain characters were because I could think of interesting back stories for them. When I started it, I was only going to write a Fred/George story for Teresa but then I got a bunch of ideas and before I knew it…well, I had a monster on my hands. A ten story monster to be exact. Five of which are big stories. I'm very excited to write them though and I hope that everyone reading sticks around for the whole thing. And now, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Mild swearing, that sort of thing.

* * *

Shape Shifter 

Part the First

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative."

Oscar Wilde

* * *

Andromeda Tonks had been a bit worried when her only child, a girl, turned out to be a witch. After all, witches were "processed" but they didn't tell the Guard. She was fairly sure she could keep it a secret. And maybe they could have. 

She began writing letters to a cousin of hers, whom she knew could also do magic and so perhaps could help her. He had once been part of the families that ruled over the land, but he had left all that behind, just as she had. If only she knew how to reach him! And so, her letters went out into the world and she could only hope he received them.

In the meantime, she just had to hide the girl's wand, and then proceed as if life was perfectly and terrifically normal.

But Nymphadora Tonks proved to be a most unusual case indeed.

She had the very odd talent of being able to change her appearance at will. Her skin, her hair, her eyes, her nose, her mouth, her body…it was definitely out of the ordinary. And being that she was a mischievous little girl, it didn't take long for her to realize what she could do. At first, Andromeda didn't know what to do but then, when Nymphadora was old enough to understand, she explained to her quite patiently that she _mustn't _use her strange powers in public. Only at home.

"It will be our secret." Andromeda told her little girl who grinned wickedly and her hair went from short and pink to long and red in a matter of seconds. Her husband, Ted, seemed to find the whole thing very cute and would often just roar with laughter when he saw his little girl going about with a strange hair color and pat her on the head.

"Never thought she'd be normal…" Ted shook his head with an amused look on his face. "Nope…not with her mother!"

He meant that in a gentle, teasing way. Andromeda had not been raised to live in a simple village and lead a simple life married to a man named Ted Tonks. No, when she was born, she had been born to the autocracy as well. But that life was behind her now, far behind her.

Instead of the pampering and luxuries her childhood had given her, Andromeda found herself chasing Nymphadora around the house and keeping her from misbehaving in public which was a rather hard thing to do. She tried to leave Nymphadora at home and the little girl would pout and promise that she really _would _be good this time. To prove this point, she would often make her hair and eyes go a plain mousy brown. And then Andromeda would give in and before she knew it, she would be trying to cover her daughter with a blanket when she turned her eyes bright yellow and someone happened to be passing by.

Around eight, Nymphadora began to grow very clever about things. She discovered that she could turn into a person! She could be the mirror twin of her mother if she just pictured her in her head!

There was minor setback. Of all the things Nymphadora could change, there was one thing she couldn't: Her height. She was the same height no matter what. So, if she decided to play a joke on her dad by turning into her mom, it didn't get very far because she was not nearly as tall as her mother.

This was not a drawback when she played with other children her age, for they were nearly all the same height and she could turn into one of them when no one was looking and play jokes on them. If they were all playing Hide-and-Seek and she was named it, Nymphadora would turn into one of the other children and find where everyone was hiding before turning into herself again and finding them all. It was a bit like cheating, but it was still fun watching the confusion on the other children's faces as she seemed to know exactly where they all were.

Her mother was constantly worried about whether or not Nymphadora would slip up and accidentally reveal her hidden talent to the other children, but she never did. Even if she did use it to get into an awful lot of trouble.

For instance, the pies.

In Nymphadora's mind, anyone who set out pies was just _begging _to have them stolen. They just set them out on the window sill with the window wide open. They'd even walk off and start doing something else! What kind of signal did they think they were sending to small children. To cover her tracks, just in case, Nymphadora would turn into one of the other children. Usually, she mixed up their features in her head so that she didn't really look like any of them.

Unfortunately, she was _terrible _at sneaking up to a window and just stealing a pie. She was dead clumsy. She could trip over things that weren't even there. Ted and Andromeda Tonks were so used to this that now, if they heard a crash, and they didn't hear a scream of pain, they just shrugged their shoulders and called out an 'Are you alright?'

Mrs. Mackeray was the one baking pies that day. They smelled delicious. Apple pieces, glistening with apples and cinnamon and they were so irresistibly scrumptious looking that Nymphadora just knew she had to have one. She hid behind a building and screwed up her face, remembering and picturing the features she wanted very clearly in her head. She, even when she was young, paid spectacular attention to detail. Every part of the face, the skin, the eyes, the bumps, the freckles, she could remember exactly in her head. She wondered if being able to picture it and imagining her skin being like that was what really caused her to be able to change.

She grabbed the pie off the sill. Success! Or it would have been if she had seen that rock a little sooner. She dropped the pie, crashing into a pile of glass bottles. Of course Mrs. Mackeray heard this and came running out of the house. There was disguised little Nymphadora Tonks, her face in a pie, picking herself up off the ground. She saw Mrs. Mackeray coming towards her.

Nymphadora leapt to her feet and took off. Even if she was a klutz, she could run fairly fast when the occasion called for it. Mrs. Mackeray was heard shouting up the street at her, warning the disguised child that when she found out who she was, she would be telling her parents about it. She found a good place to turn back into a very plain Nymphadora, with mouse brown hair and mousy brown eyes. She didn't like to do this. She thought dark hair suited her much better but she liked to please her mother by looking as normal as possible. She was still a very pretty little girl. She had inherited her mother's pale, heart-shaped face. The smooth, even complexion. From her dad, she decided she had his feet.

The problem with transformation is that it did not get rid of the evidence that Nymphadora recently had fallen face first into a pie. As soon as she walked in the door, her mother turned from the floor she was scrubbing (Nymphadora's father worked at the town store during the day) and saw Nymphadora's face.

"What do you have on you?" Andromeda sat up, wiping her hands on an apron. She didn't really like scrubbing floors. Oh well, it was Ted's turn next week. "Is that…pie?"

"Er…no." Nymphadora was too young at the time to realize that she was completely caught.

"You've been stealing pies, haven't you?" Andromeda's lips pursed.

"I didn't actually get the pie, I fell into it." Nymphadora protested, looking a bit sour about it. It was no fair that she had tripped over that rock!

"No dessert for a week." Andromeda put her hands on her hips. A week was an awfully long time in Nymphadora's mind. It would always remain so, just because she wasn't the most patient person. "Now come here so I get that off of you, Nymphadora."

Nymphadora wasn't the biggest fan of her name. Even when she was small. But she endured it. The other kids made fun of her name, though some of them had taken to calling her 'Dori', which she supposed wasn't too awful. It was still pretty bad, all things considering.

Her mother gave her a good scrubbing which Nymphadora changed her noses during to complicate things for her mother. When Andromeda was done, she sat down at the table across from Nymphadora, who still for some reason could seem a bit grubby, even after a good washing.

"Nymphadora, we need to talk." Andromeda told her daughter. Nymphadora recognized the serious tone of voice and directed her attention to her mother. Even when she was trying to look serious, she still looked playful and it nearly made Andromeda laugh. "I've told you repeatedly not to steal pies or cookies or anything. And yet you still do."

"They're just sitting there!" Nymphadora protested.

"But they aren't _yours_." Andromeda spoke sternly. "They are somebody else's. It takes money and work to make those things. Besides, they were probably made for that person's family. That means that a lot of feeling and love was put into them."

This was something Andromeda had not been taught as a child. But it's what she knew then to be right.

"And to steal it is wrong." Andromeda reminded her again. "What if _I _had made that pie for us? And someone stole it? How would you feel?"

"Not good." Nymphadora confessed, looking downcast.

"There you go." Andromeda gave her a small smile. "Do you understand now?"

"Yes!" Nymphadora nodded. "I understand!"

_If I steal pies or cookies, I've got to wash my face and hand afterwards!_

At least Andromeda's talk had caused Nymphadora to be a much cleaner child afterwards. Yes, she _was_ mischievous. She didn't understand consequences as well as others do. But she would one day. On her fourteenth birthday to be exact.

* * *

To Be Continued

* * *


	2. Part the Second

I finally get to update this one weekly. _Inferiorum_ now has a permanent place on the updating chart! Woo! Until the series is finished…this could take a bit of time. But that's okay! Let's make things interesting while we're here! On with the show!

Note: In the last chapter Tonks is referred to as 'Nymphadora' a lot without a lot of protesting but in this chapter she hates it when people call her that. I thought she probably wouldn't mind her name when she was young but probably started disliking it when she got a little older. Just clearing that up now.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Some mild swearing.

* * *

Shape Shifter

Part the Second

* * *

After a bit of birthday cake on her fourteenth birthday, Nymphadora Tonks, decided to go take a walk. She had received some really great presents, even if her mother had written that the presents were to Nymphadora. She rolled her eyes as she remembered that.

She absolutely _hated _the name Nymphadora. It was so…romantic heroine who falls swooning in the arms of some knight who rescued her instead of just rescuing herself like a sensible person. She was constantly reminding her mom about it.

_"Don't call me Nymphadora, mom." Tonks complained. "Everybody else calls me 'Tonks'." _

_ "Don't be ridiculous Nymphadora." Andromeda shook her head wearily. "That's what I named you and I think it's lovely." _

_ "I think it's silly." Tonks muttered under her breath. _

The village was practically all along one road. She could have turned and gone into the village, because by now she was so much better at keeping her powers in check, and knew not to accidentally turn her hair flaming red in front of other people. Instead though, she decided to walk the other way, where she would pass a few houses and eventually hit the cemetery.

Her mother thought it was rather morbid that Tonks liked going to the cemetery but she thought it was a nice place because it was so quiet. Besides, there were some excellent trees for climbing there. Tonks glanced around the road a bit but saw that no one was around and she had just gotten past the last house and reached into her jacket pocket.

She pulled out her wand. She was very fascinated by her wand. Her mother had given it to her when she was twelve to keep on herself for protection. Tonks wished she could learn magic, but how? Her mother couldn't do any, even though she said that magic had run in her family. (Tonks knew next to nothing about her mother's family and anytime she asked, no one would answer her questions.) She fancied there was some big mystery about them, but no one was talking.

When she arrived at the cemetery, Tonks put the wand in her jacket pocket and proceeded to scale the highest tree that overlooked the cemetery. Hidden up there in the branches, she could just watch people come and go. Some people wept, some people just looked peaceful. Bottles of alcohol were sometimes poured on graves, but mostly there were just flowers.

Today however, there was a funeral. They were having a service in the cemetery and Tonks was amazed to see that the casket was open. People were walking up to it and kissing the old woman who had died on the cheek. It gave her a shiver to realize that this old grey woman was dead. That old woman's death day and her birthday were on the same day. More shivers.

Tonks carefully climbed out of her tree and walked back home, thinking about what it would be like to be dead and buried in the ground. She didn't like the thought of that at all. When she died…she would want her body to be burned, before the worms could eat it all away, and then her ashes spread, so that she could run free forever. That seemed better to her.

Almost subconsciously, she broke into a run, enjoying the wind whistling in her ears. There was plenty of time to think about death when she was dead. Right now, all she wanted to think about was life.

Mrs. Mackeray was baking pies again.

Something Tonks could not resist even now. They smelled so delicious. Blackberry pies…that was her favorite berry! She stood around the back corner of the house, seeing the pies being set out. In happiness she turned her hair purple.

Now, she would have to think of a suitable disguise so that when she nabbed the pie, she could run for it and no one would know that it was Tonks. Hmm…she screwed her face up and tried to think of the perfect disguise. Unbidden, the face of that old dead woman popped into her head. Well, it would work.

When she opened her eyes, she looked down at her wrinkled hands and knew her disguise was in place. Now, she just had to wait for the perfect moment…

The last pie was set on the sill to cool and Tonks carefully tiptoed to the window, her back pressed up against the house. When she got to the window, she peered very carefully in.

_Come on…turn away from the pies._

Mrs. Mackeray did turn away to do something with the dishes and Tonks, with her shirt, because the pie was hot, grabbed hold of the pie. Yes! She was careful not to make any more noise than necessary as she strolled out of the small alleyway and out into the street. No one would think anything of an old lady with a pie.

Or so she thought.

"Grandmother!" A horrified voice shrieked and Tonks turned wide-eyed to see a woman staring at her as though she had just seen a ghost. Tonks realized that to this woman, she had.

"What are you talking about Sylvia, dear?" Another woman came to see what the fuss was a bout. She looked up at Tonks and jumped quite visibly. "Old Mrs. Martin! But that's impossible!"

"Old Mrs. Martin?" Heads turned.

"Isn't she dead?"

"Buried 'er meself!"

"Then what's she doing here?"

"Maybe she fancied a walk?"

"Grandmother!" The first woman, Sylvia, latched onto Tonks' arm. Tonks didn't know what to do. She couldn't very well say that she _wasn't _Mrs. Martin. She certainly couldn't change in front of all these people. She didn't know what to do! "I'm so happy! You've come back to us from beyond the grave."

"E-eh…" Tonks didn't know what to say, but she was suddenly jostled and ended up dropping the pie. Oh, bugger. She realized that she had infinitely larger problems to work out now.

"It's a miracle!" Another person declared.

"Erm…" Tonks wished she could get away but Sylvia was rather attached to her arm.

"Oh, grandmother, we have to get you home so the rest of the family knows!" Sylvia tugged on her. Then she stopped. "Grandmother, what's wrong? Don't you know who I am?"

"…" Tonks tried to say something.

"Maybe she's lost her memory, Sylvia, dear." The second woman patted Sylvia on the back comfortingly. "She's probably seen the wonders of the universe and now she's forgotten them…I suppose that could happen to anyone."

"How terrible!" Sylvia turned on Tonks with large eyes, almost shining with tears. "You don't remember anything?" Tonks shook her head. Best to play as dumb as possible until she could get away. What a bunch of loons! "I'm Sylvia, your granddaughter."

"O-oh." Tonks nodded.

Surely she'd get away soon, it was only a matter of time before someone left her alone…

* * *

Seven days had gone by and Tonks was still in the Martin family home. She missed her mother and father terribly, she just wanted to go home, but she couldn't. Sylvia slept right next to her in the cramped living quarters, making it impossible to even sit up without Sylvia immediately waking up and asking her if she needed anything.

During the day, it was nothing but relatives of the dead woman talking and poking at her. Since they were under the assumption that she couldn't remember anything after her resurrection, they would tell her stories. She couldn't even go to the bathroom alone, someone was always with her. She just wanted to scream at them to leave her alone and anytime she attempted to run for it, she was always caught and they just assumed it was some quirk that came with being dead.

_I just want to go home…I just want to go home…_

She was so sorry about ever stealing that pie and using the old woman as a disguise that she burst into tears during the seventh day in frustration. Everyone assumed she was crying with joy at being alive again. It couldn't possibly get any worse.

_JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!_

That's what she wanted to yell at them, but she didn't. If she changed and someone saw, that was it for her. She would be arrested by the Guards. But what if she had to spend her whole life like this? Her whole life she would have to be an old woman, trapped…

Then things got even worse for her. The next day, they were all sitting in the parlor, some of the women doing needlepoint, and Tonks staring at the piece they had given to her rather miserably. She supposed she'd have to get used to it. Now that she was trapped.

There was a knock at the door. One of the women put hers down, muttering something about who could possibly be calling on them, and when she opened the front door, which led directly into the parlor, everyone looked up in amazement to see that three members of the Guard were there.

"We are looking for Euphemia Martin." The guard in the middle announced. "We are under orders to bring her to the capitol."

"What?" Sylvia stood up. "That's my grandmother though! Why are you taking her there?"

"We aren't under any obligation to answer your questions." The guard told her coldly. "Now where is Euphemia Martin?" Everyone of them turned and looked at Tonks.

_The capitol? Why! _

_ And why is the Guard doing it? Unless…maybe…they know? _

"You will come with us." The two other members of the Guard stepped forward and grabbed Tonks' by each arm. "Rumors of your miraculous return to life have brought you under the attention of the nobles. We will escort you there."

_Why would a bunch of nobles want to know about some old woman who's 'come back to life'? _

Tonks was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. If she transformed right now, sure they would know she wasn't actually that old woman and therefore no one would need to take her to the capitol. However, they would probably hang her. But she couldn't go to the capitol!

_I just want to go home…_

But it didn't do her any good. She was walked forward by the guards on either side of her. Sylvia was tearfully saying her good-byes and Tonks could only bitterly think about how she wouldn't be going anywhere if they had just left her alone for a few moments.

_If I ever get out of this, I'll never do anything bad again!_

She was put in a carriage that the Guards locked her into, so there would be no escaping and then, in what seemed like no time at all, she was being driven away from the village she had grown up in. She was on her way to the capitol, driven there by the Guard, whom she had always been taught to fear.

Tonks thought of her mother, who was probably already dead with worry about her. And her father. She'd give anything to see them one last time before she went. She probably wouldn't come back alive. Who knew how long the nobles would carefully watch over her and ask her questions that she couldn't answer?

She had been robbed of her freedom and it was at this time that she felt she understood what consequences could really mean. It wasn't just no dessert or having to stay in her room all day instead of going out to play. It was life or death, freedom or slavery. Why hadn't she figured it out sooner.

The journey to the capitol was a long one and they only gave her food and water once a day, so that she was perfectly miserable, her stomach always rumbling and her throat dry. To make matters worse, she felt so terrible that sometimes she would just cry, not that it would help, but it was the only thing left to do.

Ironically, she was alone in that carriage. Not that it did an ounce of good.

The carriage was old and squeaked and rattled and made it very hard to sleep, so that Tonks spent most of her time peering out of a small crack in the curtains at the passing landscape.

Where were they going? Who was she going to see?

What if they figured out that she wasn't an old woman? That she was able to change her appearance at will?

Was she going to her death?

_No! I can't think like that!_

She couldn't sit there and cry. That was stupid! She had to figure a way out. Maybe there wasn't one now but there would be later. She would wait, she would think carefully. You didn't just run by and snatch a pie, you carefully planned it.

And when her chance came…she would take it!

_You can't give up! You can't just let yourself lie down and die! You have to get up and fight it!_

With a new hope, Tonks sat in the carriage as it continued on to the capitol.

* * *

To Be Continued

* * *


	3. Part the Third

Although this story has such a small readership, I love it. Of course, considering what a huge series it's in, I have to love it. Teresa would be reviewing but she's having computer troubles which makes me sad as I know she would want to be reading this. Well, here goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Tonks rules.

* * *

Shape Shifter

Part the Third

* * *

The capitol was so large and full of buildings that even through the crack in her curtains, Tonks couldn't really see what was going on. Every time she almost glimpsed the palace or one of the huge houses of the autocracy, another building obscured her view. She irritably brushed hair out of her eyes. She wished it was her own hair, so that she could make it all stand up on end if she wanted. But for now, she had to keep up appearances.

_I've got to get out of this somehow…that has to be a way…_

There was lots of shouting going on and she could hear it. Sometimes she would hear shouts from the Guard for everyone to make way. She could hear vendors shouting at possible customers and not-so-possible customers shouting back insults. It was so lively that she almost forgot where she was going.

The shouting lessened out as they went deeper into the city. She took a steadying deep breath as she wondered where she was being taken for the umpteenth time. To the capitol…where the nobles lived…and even…

She shivered. Her mother had never spoken about it, nor did Tonks know that Andromeda Tonks had actually _met _the Dark Lord. But children would sometimes tell stories about the person who ruled over the land in the dark of night. Whispered stories that Tonks feared to think might be true.

But he never left his palace, or so they said. Why would he want some little old lady who had supposedly risen from her grave? But then as she thought about it, she grew more worried. Everyone knew of the formidable magic he had. Her wand was still with her and if it was discovered at all…

_Should I get rid of it now? Would he know? Would he be able to see through my disguise? _

Tonks couldn't bring herself to let go of her wand, it was the last thing she had that was just hers. She glanced out the window when she realized the carriage was slowing down. They were in a courtyard. Not _the _courtyard. It was one of the nobles' houses.

It was huge and had members of the Guard stationed all around it. She pressed her nose against the cold glass and peered out. Two members of the Guard were standing on either side of the main doors that they were rolling up to. This was it. She set her jaw. She could get out of here.

_Somehow. _

The door opened and fresh air rushed in. It was the nicest feeling in the world when you realize you've been breathing stale air for awhile and now you were getting nice, clean stuff. Her whole head cleared instantly. They were holding her arms, like she was a prisoner, and they began to march her towards those doors. One member of the Guard saluted but the one on the other side who looking barely eighteen, the required age to join, was too busy getting yelled at to salute to the others.

"Shunpike, you are the worst member that the Guard has ever had!" The young man winced at these words. "You locked yourself in a cell twice already…" They passed through the huge doors and they closed quite ominously behind Tonks, so she could hear no more of the young Shunpike getting told off.

Her eyes widened in wonder at the huge hall in front of them. A sparkling chandelier that would have been as wide as her house was hanging above them and its candles were lighting up the large marble hall. The floor was not made of marble but some black stone that her feet slapped along on.

It was the most beautiful hall she had ever seen and she forgot to be afraid for a moment.

"Is it her?" A wickedly girlish voice asked and Tonks turned her head, expecting to see a girl of ten, not a full grown woman. This woman was very beautiful but there was something about her face that she immediately didn't like. Her eyes were too big and a little too gleeful. Her grin was too wide. An executioner's grin.

"Yes, Lady Lestrange." The officer in charge bowed towards this woman. "Just as you ordered."

"Oh, my lord is going to be so pleased!" She clapped her hands together in excitement that would have better suited a young girl. Then she seemed to notice that the Guard was still standing there. "Away with you!" She looked stern and the Guard quickly backed away from Tonks.

"Dearest, did she arrive?" A man appeared at the Lady Lestrange's side. She sidled up next to him, pressing her body into his and reaching up a hand to wrap around his neck while still facing Tonks. Tonks tried not to grimace.

"Yes, she did. Won't my lord be pleased with me?" Lady Lestrange cooed.

"So pleased." The man agreed, looking rather wrapped up in her and taking little notice of Tonks.

"Let's take her into the sitting room." Lady Lestrange took out a wand. Tonks nearly gasped out loud.

_She can do magic!_

"You'll do as we say or we'll have to get rough with you." Lady Lestrange looked like this was the kindest offer she had ever heard. Tonks gulped in terror. There was something frightening about Lady Lestrange and this man. She gestured with her wand and Tonks immediately went as directed.

The sitting room was almost as big as the hall she had just been in. She stopped short when she saw there was a man already sitting on the couch, with a small, terrified little boy sitting in his lap.

"Rabastan!" Lady Lestrange's voice was playfully reprimanding. Tonks dared not think about what might be going on. "Save him for later like I told you! You'll spoil your dinner."

"Oh, alright." Rabastan rolled his eyes and let go of the little boy who practically ran from the room. "I see you've brought the woman here."

"Just as my lord commanded me to." Lady Lestrange looked almost misty-eyed. Tonks wondered what was going to happen now. The frightening noblewoman turned on her. "Sit, make yourself comfortable. You have such a long story to tell us."

"I-I do?" Tonks found it hard to speak.

"Yes, you do." Lady Lestrange took instant command of the situation and gave her a terrible look that made Tonks sit immediately. "Perhaps you do not understand who I am. I am the Lady Bellatrix Lestrange and you will tell me exactly how you came back to life." All the girlishness drained from her voice and it was filled instead with iron cruelty.

"Oh." Tonks found that was the only thing she could think of saying.

"Should we be doing this before the Dark Lord gets here?" Rabastan asked.

"Do not interfere Rabastan!" Bellatrix turned on him. "We should find out now so we are even further rewarded by the Dark Lord. Besides, then we can kill the woman."

"Bellatrix knows what to do." The other man beamed proudly at her. "Please proceed dearest."

_I can't tell them…not only do I not know but they'll kill me if I make something up! What do I do?_

Tonks' brow furrowed. She'd have to think fast. Her mother and other mothers in the village would often say that Tonks could be quite difficult, that she could be a bit of, well, a smartass. Maybe if she was difficult, they'd want someone else to deal with her, they'd wait for them to come...

"Tell us how you came back to life." Bellatrix prompted her again in a commanding tone.

"Oh, I don't know." Tonks looked up at the ceiling with a faraway expression, intending to infuriate them. Was it safe? They needed her alive to tell them, didn't they? They wouldn't dare kill them before.

"We can make things quite difficult for you." Bellatrix showed all her teeth when she smiled. Like a wild animal. She twirled her wand in one hand. "You're an old thing, aren't you? One good curse would probably finish you off."

"Yes, but then I would just come back to life, wouldn't I?" Tonks mused.

"She's being difficult on purpose." Rabastan observed.

"Thanks for stating the obvious there." Tonks rolled her eyes at him. "Is that why you like little boys? Because you're all at the same intelligence level?"

She thought for a moment that she had really done it and she was going to be killed on the spot, especially by the way that Rabastan sputtered and pulled his wand out. But the other man, whom she supposed was Bellatrix's husband, stopped him.

"We can't kill the old woman!" He said. "The Dark Lord would have our heads…"

"She said she'd just come back to life." Rabastan muttered angrily.

"What if she didn't though?" Bellatrix inquired and then glared over at Tonks. "Although when the Dark Lord comes, she will be paid out for insulting a Lestrange, dear brother." The horrible smile on her face told Tonks that it was true and filled her with a terrible sense of foreboding. She would have to get out of there before the Dark Lord came. "I will ask you one more time to tell us what happened. Perhaps we will be merciful. Perhaps we will kill you quickly."

"That's a pretty swell deal but I'm going to have to pass, thanks." Tonks retorted. Bellatrix screamed a little in frustration. She stomped her foot several times and Tonks thought this grown woman was actually throwing a bit of a temper tantrum.

Her husband comforted her though, somehow, whispering soothing words into her ears. Bellatrix calmed down a little but still looked like a kid who had been denied a toy.

"It is too bad she is not younger or more attractive." Bellatrix looked at Tonks down her nose. Tonks was suddenly very glad to look like an old woman right then. "Then we would be able to have fun with her."

"Why not throw her in the dungeons until the Dark Lord gets here so you don't have to see her anymore?" Her husband suggested. "Avery sent us the loveliest little farm girl, you'll love her, she's so frightened…"

"Oh, you do know how to cheer me up." Bellatrix kissed him on the cheek and then once more gave Tonks a disdainful glance. "Take this one away and throw her into the dungeons. The Dark Lord will deal with her when he comes."

Some members of the Guard were sent for and Tonks was escorted down several flights of step into a dank, dripping place, full of cells. She thought she heard the small whimper of a child every now and then, but she wasn't sure.

_They're sick. They're absolutely sick and demented._

_ I have to get out of here now. _

_ But how?_

She was left in that cell. The Dark Lord was coming and they would send for her and then he would find out everything. The Dark Lord. Voldemort. The name made her cold.

An idea popped into her head.

She concentrated hard on the image in her head. And she felt herself change. Unfortunately, the person was taller than her. If anyone thought about that for half a moment, they would realize it, but if she was lucky, and the fact that it was a bit dark in here…

"HELP!" She screamed, her voice a boy's. "I'VE LOCKED MYSELF IN A CELL!"

For a little bit there was nothing and she was worried her plan hadn't really worked. There was the slight complication of him being in girl clothes as well. She had insisted that they cleaned her clothes when she was with Sylvia and so she still had her own. But though she was wearing pants, it still was clear they were not meant for a boy.

But then there was grumbling and footsteps and a member of the Guard came, carrying a thing of keys that rattled in such a beautiful way that Tonks grinned to herself.

"Oh, Shunpike, locked yourself in a cell again, eh?" This particular member of the Guard was drunk and it was a bit obvious from his jolly manner and the way it took him a bit to figure out the complicated process of putting a key in a keyhole and turning it.

"Yeah." She tried not to sound too eager.

"Come on out then." The guard opened the door and she walked around him.

"I've gotta go, er, report!" Tonks gave a hasty salute and broke into a run. She couldn't waste a second like that. It was the perfect disguise for now, but she had to get away quickly, before anyone figured out that the little old lady wasn't in her cell.

_I've got to get out of this madhouse!_

After getting to the first floor, she followed the smell of food, planning to go through the kitchens. But just as she was going into the door to the kitchens, a young man was coming out of it.

Stan Shunpike stared in shock at his identical twin (although not in height) and Tonks realized she had made a terrible mistake by running into him.

"A demon!" Shunpike waved his finger wildly at her. "A demon that looks just like me! I'm going to die, aren't I? You're a death omen, aren't you?"

"Oh bloody hell." Tonks swore as she turned to see a window at the end of the hall and dashed for it, closing her eyes and trying to concentrate as she ran. Shunpike stopped shouting when he saw Tonks' hair go short, spiky, and midnight black, her eyes blue, and turn into, well, a girl.

"IT CHANGED!" Shunpike screamed. Tonks wrenched the window open and saw that the ground was about ten feet below. She heard the sound of feet rushing towards her. Screw that.

She jumped and stumbled over herself, rolling a few feet, but quickly picked herself back up. She wasn't in front of the house, she in back of it. A huge sweeping ground spread out before her, and a stone archway in front of her.

Not even pausing to think about it, she darted through, and went running down the hill, thanking her looking stars she wasn't tumbling head over feet down them. She heard angry shouts and then, a sound that filled her with dread.

The barking of dogs.

They had set dogs out. Dogs could sniff her out and catch her and drag her back. No! She wouldn't be taken like that! If she could just get to the end of the grounds and hop a fence or something. In front of her was a huge hedge maze and even though part of her didn't like the idea of going into a maze where she could easily get lost, it was that or stay there and get ripped to shreds by vicious Guard dogs.

The barking was getting closer and she ran urgently through the maze, blindly taking turns. But then she hit a dead end. She would have to double back. The whole maze looked the same, horrible lush green walls. She could break through them somehow, couldn't she? But they were thick and impenetrable bushes, which were probably reinforced by some kind of magic.

When she hit another dead end, she miserably sank down. She couldn't give up now! Not when she had gotten so far. But where would she go? There was no where for her to go. She would be taken back or killed or both. She couldn't stand that idea.

_Why did I have to steal that stupid pie?_

It was all fun and games…but now, now she was going to die. She was going to die. She could sit here and wait, maybe the dogs would go away. She fancied the barking didn't seem nearly as loud. Maybe the dogs were confused. And maybe they wouldn't search the maze. Of course they would search the maze, it was the best place to search, wasn't it?

Tonks stood up, not sure what her plan of action was now.

_Maybe I can still find my way out…_

Suddenly, something huge and black burst through the bushes just then. Tonks screamed but quickly covered her mouth with her hand. This huge black beast was a dog. If you could call it that. It didn't look in the least bit friendly. She tried to back away slowly.

_Stupid! What are you planning to do? Give it a treat and ask it nicely to go away?_

Tonks turned and went to run for it but cried out in pain when teeth sank into her ankle, pulling one of her feet out from under her so that she hit the ground. The dog had a hold of her now.

And there was nothing she could do.

* * *

To Be Continued

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	4. Part the Fourth

Hey guys! I'm back, ready for action, and also, ready to complete this story! What's going to happen to Tonks? Well, just read and find out!

Pobbin: Your review made me laugh at the beginning. Heh, I'm glad you're enjoying this. But are you right? Dun, dun, DUN!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Some profanity.

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**Shape Shifter**

**Part the Fourth**

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The huge dog's teeth sank into her ankle a little further, causing her to whimper in pain as she tried to get away, her nails raking at the ground as it dragged her along. Her wand came out of her jacket and she grabbed it, not wanting to loose it. 

_Maybe I can magic it away!_

Tonks pointed her wand at the dog as best she could, flipping over to do so, but all it did was shoot some red sparks that only made the dog shake it's huge head in irritation.

Suddenly, it let go of her ankle but she didn't have any time to be relieved because someone instantly covered her mouth with their hand and grabbed her arm, hauling her up so that she was standing up. She couldn't see the person, but she knew everything was lost now. She was a goner. They were going to drag her back up to the Lestranges and she'd be put to death.

___I can't give up!_

She tried to struggle but the person kept a pretty firm grip on her.

"None o' that, see? We're here to save you." A gruff old voice told her and she shook her head, not understanding. "Come on. You too." She opened her eyes and saw that he must be talking to the huge black dog that was with them. "Sneaking up on her like that, no wonder she tried to use magic. We have to get out of here now if we don't want them to kill us."

The person took their hand away from her mouth and was pushing her so she didn't dare turn around to see who it was. It was too much to believe that she really was being rescued and that everything would turn out alright. No one knew she was here.

___Who is this person?_

"We aren't going through this maze, it's probably full of traps. You'll probably find yourself being eaten by a dragon if you take a wrong corner, see if you don't." The old voice murmured, almost feverishly. The dog led the way, taking them back through the hole. Tonks could hear the dogs and guards yelling a long way off.

___Why aren't they looking over here?_

The person behind her seemed find with letting the dog lead, so she assumed it knew the way. Unless of course this was a trap. That idea wasn't comforting in the least so she pushed it out of her mind.

They snuck through some bushes and were hiding in the shadows. The dog sniffed along the ground, probably retracing earlier steps to find the way out. Before too long, Tonks saw that they had hit something that made her feel a hundred times better. A fence.

It was made of black wrought iron and stood about ten feet up. The dog growled at it in frustration and backed away.

"Step back there now lassie." The person behind her told her and she saw a gnarled hand with several scars criss-crossing it, holding a wand—a lot like her own. Her jaw dropped.

___ They can do magic too?_

They said something that she couldn't quite make out and suddenly there was a hole in the fence, as though it had been melted away but the iron had instantly cooled. The dog easily made it through and Tonks had to duck down a little to get through the hole. The person behind her got through and as soon as they were all standing on the other side, it was like a weight had lifted off her shoulders.

"We're out!" She cheered out loud. The dog licked her hand, which made her jump a little because it was still a big black dog. But it looked friendly now. She patted it cautiously on the head.

"But we're probably being followed. We'll have to double back a lot." The old man decided. Tonks turned a little to see that it was indeed an old man, though she couldn't quite make out the face and he had a hat that was pulled down, casting it into further shadow. For a moment, she thought she glimpsed something…blue.

Together, her, the dog, and the old man, began making their way through the capitol. It was a long journey, made even longer by all the doubling back they had to do. Whoever this man was, he sure was positive they were being followed, even though Tonks didn't see a thing.

The air was cold and she was shivering and thinking of how all she wanted was a hot bath and a nice bed to sleep in, but still it seemed like the walk would never end.

"Almost there." The old man told them. "But we should probably double back a few more times…" The dog let out an angry bark in response. Tonks completely agreed and wondered if the dog somehow knew what they were saying. "Alright, alright, but when they're all bloody on top of us, you'll be sorry you ignored me."

They turned down a back alley and as they went along, Tonks wondered where on Earth they could be going. Did this old man and his dog live somewhere together and that's where they were going? But why had they come to rescue her? How did they even know she was there?

They stopped suddenly at a little black door that didn't stick out at all. The man knocked three times and the dog let out a bark. She heard some people moving around just inside and then the door swung open.

"Well, come in!" An old woman, who was rather batty looking and wearing ratty old slippers, gestured for them to come in. "What took you so long anyways? Let me guess, Moody wanted to double back?"

The dog barked excitedly and went into the room, which was warm and snug with a roaring fire going. Tonks stepped thankfully into the warmth, and the old man followed. Sitting in an armchair next to the fire was another older man, whose eyes were watery and droopy, and he was holding an empty brandy glass.

"Oh! See ya' came, alright, didn't you?" The man gave a small start at the sight of them. "Took you bloody long enough."

Tonks turned to see that the other man was taking off his hat. His face was a criss-cross of scars and chunk had been taken out of his nose a long time ago. It wasn't a pleasant face by any means and what made it seem more inhuman was the face that he had one normal eye, that was so dark it looked black, but the other one wasn't real. It was an electric bright blue one that spun around and gave you the uncanny feeling that he could see in any direction he wanted to.

"Excuse me, but I don't know who any of you are." Tonks spoke up after a bit.

"Don't tell me you grabbed this child in the night and didn't tell her a word of what was going on!" The old woman turned on the old man and the dog. "How insensitive can you be! She's probably scared out of her wits right now!"

"I told her we were saving her." He nearly sniffed in response to the accusation. "Besides, how do we know she isn't a spy?"

"That's enough of that!" The old woman screeched at him. Then she turned on the dog, who had adopted a pitiful look. "Sirius, for the love of everything, would you turn back into yourself and stop giving me that look?"

Tonks' mouth dropped open as a second later, instead of a dog standing on all fours being there, it was a tall man, with black hair and blue eyes. She shrieked in surprise and all of them turned to shush her.

"Now, now, I know it'll give you quite a start dear…" The old woman put a hand on her shoulder. "But we're all friends here. I'm Arabella Figg but you can call me Mrs. Figg."

"Pleased to meet you…" Tonks spoke rather dazedly. She'd really like to know what was going on. "I'm Nymphadora Tonks."

"Yes, we know." The old woman went over to go about what she had been doing before they got there—making tea.

"I'm Mundungus Fletcher." The man in the armchair volunteered with a drunken wave of his brandy glass.

"And I'm Sirius Black." The man who had been a dog stepped forward. "This paranoid old kook is Mad-Eye Moody."

"Oh, that's right, paranoid ole' kook they call me! Just because I practice—" Moody was cut off as the other three jumped in.

"Constant vigilance!" They all said together and laughed a little. Before Mrs. Figg told them guiltily that they should really keep it down.

"I still don't understand who any of you are." Tonks looked a little bewildered. "How did you know where I was?"

"Well, Nymphadora—"

"Don't call me that." Tonks scrunched up her nose. "Everyone calls me Tonks."

"Yes, your mother did warn me about that." Sirius grinned a little. "Your mother is my cousin, so I guess that makes you and I cousins of some kind…"

"You're my mom's cousin?" Tonks blinked. "I've never met any of my mom's family."

"Of course not." Sirius shook his head. "Your mother told me you didn't know anything about it but your mother used to be named Andromeda Black. Me and her were both disowned from the Black family."

"The Black family?" Tonks looked puzzled.

"Tea's ready." Mrs. Figg told them importantly. Sirius waited until they all get seated—except for Mundungus Fletcher, who had fallen asleep in his armchair. Mrs. Figg poured out the tea and then poured out a dish of cream for a cat that had just appeared. Tonks wondered vaguely if the cat was also a person, but decided it probably wasn't.

"So, what's the Black family?" Tonks prompted Sirius. She couldn't believe this guy was a cousin of some sort to her.

"Well, they're almost all dead or married into other families now. I'm the only person with the surname 'Black' left." Sirius' face went grim. "Your mother, Andromeda, she was my favorite cousin. She was disowned when she married your father, Ted Tonks. I was disowned because of…well, a lot of things." Sirius hesitated a little. "And I wanted out of that family. They were one of the more powerful Death Eater families."

"Death Eaters?" Tonks gulped in fear. "My mother was…a Death Eater?"

"No, Andromeda never was." Sirius shook his head. "She doesn't believe in any of that garbage they try to spoon feed you from birth about noble blood and what not. Her sisters, your aunts, all made respectable marriages with other Death Eater families. In fact, I believe you met one of your aunts tonight." Tonks' face screwed up in confusion before realization sank in.

"Bellatrix Lestrange!" She gasped. She was related to that demented woman? Tonks grimaced at the thought.

"That's right." Sirius seemed to understand her expression. "But all of us here, we aren't involved in any of that Death Eater stuff. We're all working for a man named Albus Dumbledore."

"Who's he?" Tonks inquired.

"He's the most powerful wizard that ever lived." Mrs. Figg broke into the conversation eagerly. "You wait until you meet him."

"I'm going to meet him?" Tonks' brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, he runs a sort of school for children who want to learn magic." Sirius explained. "Do you want to learn how to shoot more than sparks from that wand?"

"Oh, yes, I would." Tonks nodded eagerly. "I can really learn?"

"All that an' more." Moody said over a hip flask that he was drinking out of, instead of the cup in front of him. Mrs. Figg was shooting him annoyed looks.

"Your mother has been trying to reach me, but I move around a lot, all of us do." Sirius told her. "If we were caught, we would be killed right away—we're all wanted men…er, and women." He nodded at Mrs. Figg. "I finally received one of her letters, in which she told me that she needed my help, that her daughter was a witch in her own right—no surprise there considering how powerful your mother was. But also that her daughter had a very peculiar talent…perhaps you'd like to demonstrate?" Tonks suddenly smiled quite mischievously and closed her eyes, picturing the person really hard. In a moment, she had turned into a perfect (albeit, shorter) copy of Sirius.

"I never thought I'd see the day!" Mrs. Figg looked amazed. "A Metamorphmagus!"

"A what?" Tonks turned back into the features she had been wearing before.

"You can change your appearance at will—that's what it's called." Sirius clarified.

"Bloody useful as well." Moody muttered, though he looked impressed as well.

"So, you got my mother's letter, but how did you know where I was?" Tonks wasn't quite connecting the two dots.

"Your mother had heard about an old woman who suddenly came back to life and you hadn't come home and she guessed that it might be you…we went to go get you but when we got there, you were already gone." Sirius went on with his story.

"We wanted to catch up to you before you got to the Lestrange estate, but we didn't quite make it." Moody growled, obviously not happy with that part of the story.

"We were planning to rescue you from the dungeons, hoping that we could get you out before Voldemort showed up." Sirius took a drink from his cup. "And thankfully, we got you out, though you were halfway to escaping yourself."

"So, now what?" Tonks looked at the different faces.

"Things are getting really dangerous now." Mrs. Figg spoke warningly. "We can't take you to see your mother right now, we have to take you straight to where Dumbledore is."

"Alright." Tonks replied, a little sadly. She had wanted to see her mother before she went.

"How about you, Moody? Are you coming with us?" Sirius asked the paranoid old man. "Out of retirement for good?"

"Not for good, for now." Moody put down his hip flask. "I wouldn't have had to come out of retirement at all if it 'adn't been for Mundungus landing himself in prison."

"Then we're all going North with you." Sirius told her comfortingly. "There's other children up there as well, so you won't be by yourself. And it's completely safe as well."

"When are we going to leave?" Tonks knew that this would be an adventure, a big adventure, that was all her own. Studying magic in a safe place in the North and helping these people who seemed to hate the Death Eaters. It almost didn't seem real.

"In the morning." Sirius replied, looking pleased with her reaction. "As soon as you're ready."

"I'm ready now!" Tonks announced and there was some good natured chuckling between Sirius and Mrs. Figg.

___To the North! _

___ I just know everything is waiting for me there…_

___

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_

**The End**

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Tonks' story is over! Only one more character story left before I can get into the big stories. The next story is called **Fool**—it's not meant in a mean way, I have a perfectly legitimate reason for naming it that. But who could it be about? Well, I'll let you guys figure that out. 

Also, a small note: Some of you may have noticed, but only person, Teresa, put it in a review, but that thing with Mundungus being in prison—well you may have noticed it in **Heretic**.

See ya' next story!


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